Citizen Dave
by Andi Mack
Summary: Solid Snake's friends are summoned three months after his death to participate in a documentary telling about his life. !COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

_Hello all! Just a little something to show that I'm still around and still writing. This idea was definitely influenced by Citizen Kane, the great and classic Orson Welles flick (hence the name). I hope you guys enjoy it. I had a lot of fun writing this and exploring the possible relationships between the characters that could have developed over the years. Make sure you comment and tell me what you think so far. - Andi_

* * *

"So, what was David like when he _wasn't_ on a mission, when there was no one else around but you two?"

Lewis McGregor's tone told Hal Emmerich he didn't want an answer so much as he wanted something interesting. Hal could feel the set lights positioned next to him, heating up the space he sat in and making him a few degrees hotter than what he considered comfortable but it was nothing compared to the look Lewis was giving him from the side of the video camera that was pointed at him. Hal had been slow in answering the prior questions and he could tell it was starting to irritate Lewis. But, as practiced cool as Lewis was, he only let the irritation show in a quiet, almost unassuming tapping of his index finger on the clipboard in his lap.

"He was like any other person, I suppose." Hal finally said. "He watched movies, listened to music, read books, discussed the world around him. He wasn't all that different in his home life. As a matter of fact, I think most people would be surprised and perhaps even a little disappointed at just how normal he was."

"Isn't it true that David suffered severe PTSD that interfered greatly with his normal life, though?" He asked, perhaps unaware of how contradicting his tone was of the idea of the 'normal' in Hal's statement.

Hal nodded, "Yeah. He'd have these flashbacks sometimes...and these terrible nightmares and night terrors that made it nearly impossible for him to sleep. They usually stemmed from something he had experienced during the day—a flashback or hallucination or something—that carried into the night. Sunny and I usually could tell what kind of night he was going to have based on the kind of day it had been."

"And how did he deal with all the flashbacks and nightmares?"

David still wasn't an easy subject for Hal. It was a part of him that hadn't healed yet, not in the short amount of time that had passed since his death and as he sat there, baking under studio lights, hearing the repeated beats of Lewis' growing impatience, he questioned the reason he had signed up to peel whatever scab that had begun to form over it off.

* * *

_Two days before... _

"Uncle Hal?"

Hal turned his view from the window of the airplane to rest his eyes on the little girl in the seat next to him. Though he didn't feel much like doing so, he smiled.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"You've been looking out that window since we left New York."

"Yeah, I suppose so. I'm sorry."

"Is something wrong?"

"It's just...I wonder if I'm doing the right thing."

"Well, what's your heart telling you?"

Hal shook his head at the floor. "I don't know. I really hadn't noticed I still had one in the last three months."

Sunny softened her features and found Hal's hand to slip into her grip.

"Don't say things like that, Uncle Hal."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Sunny."

"And stop apologizing." She added quickly. "You haven't done anything wrong." He nodded in agreement with the little girl and ran his hand through her short locks. "So, do you know who else signed on to do the project?"

"Jack and Meryl are the only others I know of but I'm almost positive there's more. I'm not so sure how they got Meryl on board but I'm pretty sure Jack signed on because him and Rose need the money. It's been really rough for them lately with Rose being the only person working."

"Do you know if Little John is coming?"

"I don't know sweetie, but we'll see."

He turned his attention back to the window in the silence that fell between them for several miles. In the clouds, Hal felt lost...but not nearly as lost as he had felt when he watched his best friend die three months earlier. It wasn't anything he enjoyed thinking about but something that crossed his mind often despite the effort not to.

"I want you to be okay, Uncle Hal."

He nodded and smiled at her. "I know." He admitted, "I want the same thing."

* * *

She blinked a few times in the doorway of her hotel room, seeing if any of the details of the room would disappear in one of them. It didn't. She left her bags near the door and ventured inside, running her hand over every item that looked way too expensive for her to touch any other way. The more she looked around, the more the abundance in luxury felt like a mistake.

"Excuse me," she said to get the attention of the woman behind the desk in the downstairs lobby. The woman turned to her, smiled, and permitted her with a slight nod to go on. "I think you gave me the wrong room."

"Well, that's not good and I'm very sorry if we did. What's your name?"

"Mei Ling."

The woman typed a line of command into the computer in front of her. "Ah, you're here with the documentary, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's your right room."

"Am I...sharing it with someone?"

"No, it's all yours. Is there a problem, ma'am?"

"No," Mei Ling responded quickly, "It's beautiful it's just...a lot bigger than I was expecting." She thanked the woman and turned back to the elevator, halting her path back when she caught a familiar figure entering through the entrance. "Meryl?"

The figure stole a glance from the direction of the voice as she pulled her rolling suitcase over the bump of the thresh hold. When she put the voice with the face, she hurried over to Mei Ling, wrapping her in an embrace that was tighter than what she had expected.

"Mei Ling! God, am I ever glad to see you. Ever since I've gotten to LA, I've just had angry strangers honking at me on the 405. I was starting to think no one actually spoke here. I had no idea you were going to be a part of this! The only person they told me was involved was Hal."

"Hal signed on? I had no idea. The only people they told me was involved was Jack and Cam--" Mei Ling's eyes widened as if she had suddenly swallowed a bug but Meryl had already picked up on it.

"My father is here, isn't he? I can't believe Lewis didn't tell me! Next time I see that skinny little jerk, I'm going to--"

"Meryl," Mei Ling called to her calmly, "It's okay. This place is huge. I doubt you'll even be on the same floor as your father. I mean, clearly he knew enough about your relationship with him to not tell you he was involved."

"I knew I shouldn't have come here. I knew the moment I met Lewis he was a conniving little weasel. I should just go back home."

"Come on, Meryl. Chances are, you're the only other woman here. You can't leave me here by myself." Mei Ling grabbed her by her shoulders. "Why don't you check in and come back to my room for a moment. If you feel the same way you do now after a few rounds with Svedka, I'll let you do whatever you like."

Meryl sighed and adjusted the strap of the carry on on her shoulder. "Okay, okay, fine." She said at Mei Ling's continued pleading. "You win. Might as well get started. I have a feeling alcohol's going to be a huge part of this process."


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome to the Le Veon in Los Angeles. Can I have your name please?"

"Jack."

"Is that a first or last name, sir?"

"I'm here with the documentary crew."

"Do you have a form of picture ID on you?" She was staring at the scars but trying to maintain her front desk clerk smile as she watched him dig around his in his luggage and soon produce the ID she had asked for.

"Here you are." She said once the computer had retrieved his information, "You're in going to be in Room 423, on the fourth floor with the rest of the documentary cast and crew."

"Can you tell me who's checked in already?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. It's against our privacy policy. I can only give you the status of someone if you know their name. I _can_ tell you, however, that four of the cast members have checked in." She stopped and titled her head. "Or maybe five. One of them was toting a little girl, but I'm sure she was just his daughter and not involved with the film."

"Did one of them happen to be a Roy Campbell?"

"Yes, it seems so." She said after checking the screen. "Did you want me to notify him for you?"

"No," he said, unable to hid the grumble in his voice, "that won't be necessary."

* * *

The door was messing with him.

...Or maybe it was the card key.

Whatever it was, it wouldn't work with Hal in opening the door. He rubbed the thin, white card between his hands again and slid it determinedly through the slot, as if he wanted to see fire on this attempt.

The door beeped at him irritably but still refused to let the handle turn.

"Damnit! Sunny," he called and she raised from her feet from her spot on the floor against the wall, "will you go down the lobby and ask them if they gave me the right key? The door still won't open."

She nodded and headed off.

"Hal?" Hal turned around in mid swipe to the chestnut gaze of Mei Ling. She looked perfectly placid, like she hadn't said a word with her hands neatly positioned in front of her and quiet smile pushing across her lips.

"Mei Ling! What are you--"

"It's so good to see you, Hal!" He quickly returned the hug that was rushed around him.

"I didn't even know you were going to be a part of this. Lewis only gave me Jack and Meryl's name."

"And he only told me Jack and Campbell. Looks we all got told selective bits of information to get us here."

"It looks that way. Wow. Even Campbell's here?"

"Yep," she leaned into Hal and whispered, "but try not to remind Meryl of that."

"Does that mean Johnny's here?"

"No, she came without him. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Jack is also Rose free."

"I'll try my best to look disappointed when I see him."

"There might not be a need to. He checked in but no one's actually seen him. He hasn't been the same since Dave died...but, I don't think any of us really have. How have you been, Hal?" she asked him when she noticed his eyes move to the ground.

"Some days are better than others, I guess."

"It's only been three months, Hal. To tell you the truth, I expected you to be the last person to sign on to do this. This is going to be torture for you."

"I figured if I got the chance to share with the world the person he was that it'd make it easier to cope. I know that probably sounds stupid but--"

"No, that doesn't sound stupid at all." she assured him before her own reasons came to mind, "I wish mine were as noble as that. The truth is, it's hard to find work in Los Angeles once your name has been nearly blacklisted for being connected to SOPS and Lewis offered me more money than I ever saw working on the USS Missouri."

"I hear that's just about everyone's story."

"Everyone who didn't have any nest eggs like you and Dave. You guys were smart."

"I guess Dave and I figured we'd screw ourselves over one day with everything we were doing in Philanthropy so it seemed like the only thing to do. It won't last forever, though and I definitely want Sunny to have something when she gets older."

"Speaking of Sunny," she said suddenly looking around, "where is she? I know you brought her with you."

"Yeah, she's in the lobby checking the key for me." Hal slide the card through again and waited for the command to be rejected. "I think they gave me the wrong one or something."

Hal gave the card to Mei Ling to inspect when she asked for it and waited for her to go to her room and return.

"Sometimes, the magnetic strips on things like card keys or credit cards get pretty worn out if they've been swiped too much." She placed a small thin plastic bag over the card and ran it through the slot. The door emitted the first set of happy beeps Hal had heard from it. "But, if you create a smooth surface for it with something like a plastic bag, it works like charm." Once the door was open, she peeked in and looked back at Hal with a smile. "Mind if I come in?"

* * *

"Wow…I can't believe you're all here! In the flesh!" Lewis felt like a kid again in the room with everyone he had only seen through news reports and newspaper clippings before. Though in his early thirties, Lewis's permanent deep dimples, rounded off features, and oval emerald eyes kept him looking firmly in this mid-20s. "You, Dr. Emmerich …when I read about the way you and Snake took out Metal Gear REX in 2005 at Shadow Moses it made both you guys my heroes. And Colonel Campbell, it was the stories of your leadership that made my best friend go into the military. God, if Andrew were here, he'd be so floored right—"

"Look, are we here to sit on a panel and sign autographs or do the documentary?"

"Jack!" Mei Ling quickly shot at him, "There's no need to be so rude."

"No," Lewis said, "He's right. I'm sorry about that. Completely unprofessional." Lewis took an extra chair from the back of the small room and sat himself in front of the five bodies. "As you can probably already tell, I'm a huge fan of all you guy's work and activism…especially Solid Snake. News and media have always shut him out or altered his stories and experiences in some way to appease the public and cover the government's own agenda. I've always wanted to know the real story from the man who lived through it and I know I'm not the only one so for years, I've been working on this but before it could all officially come together, Snake died but I didn't want his story to die with him. So, thanks to a lot of favors from a few friends in high places, I was able to get in touch with you guys and get you on board to tell his story." He paused. "I feel really terrible about keeping information from you all to get you here but I knew there was some…issues between a few you and it was very important for everyone to take part. I couldn't take any chances after Nastasha refused to take part."

"You talked to Nastasha?" Campbell asked without hiding his surprise, "No one's heard from her in years."

"That's not an accident. When I spoke with her, she made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with any of this...or any of you. She's put it all behind her since she remarried. She did, however, tell me that I could use anything from her book that I wanted to, free of charge."

"Maybe she was the only smart one out of all of us." Jack said and met another glare from Mei Ling.

"Look I know it was hard for all you to be here today—especially you Mr. Emmerich" Lewis said and acknowledged him with a slight nod, "but hopefully you all being very well compensated will make the process a little easier."

A petite, brunette woman hugging a clipboard spoke from the back of the room. "You should explain to them about the checks, Mr. McGregor."

Lewis turned around to her and waved her over. "Everyone, this is my assistant Lacey Chambers. As you can probably already tell, she's what keeps everything running smoothly. Now, as for the checks…as some of you have probably already found out, the checks aren't cashable yet. Not until filming actually wraps. It's simple: You don't get paid until I get the footage I need and I can't use a scrap of footage until you guys get paid. Depending on participation, either everyone wins or everyone loses. Now, as I mentioned over the phone, I'm going to need you guys here for about two weeks. Hotel, room service, rental cars—all that will be picked up by us. Any food or activities purchased or done outside of the hotel is completely your responsibility."

"Wait…I thought this was supposed to be some independent filmmaker spirit type deal. How are you affording all of this, Lewis?"

"It is an independent film, Ms. Silverburgh. There aren't any major studios behind us to finance it but that doesn't mean I don't have some generous backers." Lacey handed him the clipboard from her grasp. "I want to interview you first, Jack, starting tomorrow morning. Mr. Emmerich, you'll be up after him. The rest of your filming schedules will be given to you tomorrow afternoon." He looked up to the group again. "If you guys don't have any questions about anything, you're all welcomed to go enjoy the sights of Los Angeles."

* * *

_I hope you guys are still enjoying it at this point. I promise the story is going to start moving a bit. Just had to get the essentials ouf othe way. Fun fact: Lewis McGregor's name contains the last names of my favorite actor and actress. Juliette **Lewis **and Ewan **McGregor**._


	3. Chapter 3

"I still want to know who his backers are. Does anyone else find it a bit strange that he has all this money to give away and spend?"

Mei Ling lowered the glass of water from her mouth and sighed at her friend. "Maybe it's not our business, Meryl. I don't think it really matters how he got the money."

"He seems like a really nice man," Sunny said more to Meryl than anyone else at the table.

Meryl laughed. "Honey, he's a filmmaker, a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"But he wants to tell Dave's story for the world to know."

"He doesn't want a story. He wants blood. From all of us."

"That's enough, Meryl." Hal warned her, annoyed that she seemed to be taking Jack's place as the cynic of the group in his absence.

"Maybe she's right," Campbell remarked, mostly for the sake of backing up his daughter, "Maybe it's worth looking into who this guy is."

The waitress that had been with them all night finally returned, took their plates, and left the table again.

"There's no need to," Hal said once she was out of earshot, "I already know who he is. The last name McGregor stuck out to me so I did a research on him before Sunny and I left New York. He's the son of Richard McGregor."

"Richard McGregor…" Campbell repeated to the air, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"It was one of the names me and Dave found on the disc that we thought contained the twelve men of the Wisemen's Committee. Although he might not have been a Patriot, he was one of the programmers that Zero hired to build the AI system. I'm sure Zero thought putting his name on that list would make for a nice easter egg for anyone who happened to find it. He paid the few people authorized to work on the system very, _very_ nicely and continued to do so even years after it was completed which explains why Lewis has a bank account big enough to fill the national deficit."

"And you don't find that the least bit odd?" Meryl asked.

"Two years ago, yes, I would have but the Patriot AIs are destroyed now and Richard was never a direct threat to us anyway. All Lewis is now is a rich kid having a field day with daddy's money. Nothing more."

"You know what," Mei Ling said in the middle of the slight tension between Hal and Meryl, "I think Dave would have gotten a real kick out of all of this. All this fuss being over him and all this money being spent in his name...he would have thought it was hilarious."

Campbell nodded with a laugh, "He would have thought we were all complete idiots...and he wouldn't have been shy about telling us either."

"I'd give anything to hear Snake call me an idiot..." Mei Ling looked up when she heard Sunny call to Hal and then jump up to chase a body hurrying away from the table. She quickly excused herself and too followed him to the outside, stopping and standing a few feet behind him for a moment. Soon, he turned around and began adjusting the newly reattached glasses on his face.

"Are you okay, Hal?" Mei Ling asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He said from behind a forced smile and few clears of his throat, "It just got a little stuffy in there. I had to pick the one restaurant in LA that still allows smoking."

Mei Ling looked down at the little girl clinging to Hal's left arm. "Hey, sweetie, could you give me and Hal a moment?" When Sunny had disappeared back into the restaurant, Mei Ling leaned over the balcony with Hal and stared out over the city with him. She let a few car horn blares pass between them before she glanced over at him.

"I knew the minute I met Dave that knowing him would change my life. Whether it was for better or worse, I couldn't tell at the time but I knew I wouldn't ever be the person I was before Shadow Moses. I think about him everyday and I always wish I would have spent more time around him. I wish I would have made time to make the trips to New York or invited him out to LA more."

"And it's the exact opposite for me."

"What do you mean?"

Hal sighed, never taking his eyes off the passing flow of lunchtime traffic in front of him, "There are times when I wish I wouldn't ever become so close to Dave. If we could have just went our separate ways after Shadow Moses, I could have devoted half a thought to his death and not let it do this to me."

"You don't even mean that, Hal." Mei Ling told him, "That would have been so unfair to Dave. You would have deprived him of your friendship and I for one know that Dave couldn't have asked for a better friend to spend his final years with than you." Mei Ling hugged herself around his right arm, a little to his surprise. "I know it hurts, Hal...it hurts for all of us but try to treasure everything you ever shared with Dave. The memories are all we have of him now and they all mean too much to take for granted."

* * *

"Now, I don't want you to be nervous, Mr. Emmerich."

"What are all the cameras for?"

Lacey smiled and joined Hal in a quick look around the set's many cameras and moving bodies scrambling to get things set up, "Mr. McGregor has a vision that I think only he understands right now. Whatever's in his head, I'm sure it'll be great."

"My face surely doesn't warrant all of these cameras."

"Don't be silly, Dr. Emmerich. With a face like yours, I think we need more of them."

Hal smirked. "So, you find me that hideous, huh? Have to catch it from all angles?"

"Ah, so you _do_ have a sense of humor. I was starting to wonder about you."

"It may be hard to believe but sometimes, I'm actually kind of nice to be around."

"I don't find that hard to believe at all, Dr. Emmerich. Anyone with the love that you have for your niece must be pretty damn amazing."

"Call me, Hal, Lacey."

"Hal it is. I hope you don't walk off the set the way your friend Jack did earlier."

"Jack? What happened?"

"Don't know. He seemed a little annoyed the whole time he was being interviewed but no one expected him to get up and walk out in the middle of it. Lewis and I have both been trying to get in touch with him but he's not picking up his cell phone or his room phone." Lacey put her hand over her left ear, "The voice in my ear is telling me they're ready for you on set, Hal. Good luck."

Hal didn't become nervous until he was sitting down with all the cameras pointed at him, like a criminal awaiting the command from the firing squad. Lewis soon appeared from behind the camera closest to him, making him the most aware of its presence. "Alright, Mr. Emmerich, I'm going to ask you a few questions and when you answer them, you're going to look at me, not any of the cameras. Pretend it's just you and I having a normal conversation, okay?"

Hal nodded and waited for Lewis to give him the cue that he had told him earlier in the day to look for.

"So, for the record, could you state and spell your entire name?"

"Hal Emmerich." He replied and spelled it.

"And your relationship to Snake?"

"Friend."

"And how long had you know Snake?"

"Eleven years, give or take a few months."

"How do you feel with Snake being gone?"

Hal froze causing Lewis to call his name a few times.

"I don't know how to answer that." Hal finally said. "I don't know if I even want to answer that."

"You're right, Hal. That was tactless. I'm sorry. Let me ask you another question. What was your relationship with Snake like?"

"Well, when we first met, it was a little crazy. I had never met anyone like him before. Well, not in real life anyway. I was pretty sure people like Snake only existed in Hollywood action films. Single handedly blowing up tanks and taking out Hind D's. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it first hand. After a while though, things between us stopped being so awkward."

"At any point, did Snake ever open up to you and tell you things about his past?"

Hal was quiet again, threatening not to answer it. He took the time to take a deep breath and continued, "I don't think Snake's definition of 'open' was like everyone else's. He wasn't ashamed of a whole lot and really didn't hesitate to talk about anyone he had killed or things he had seen. But things like his real name and his birthday, that stuff was sacred to him."

"What was his real name?"

"It was David." The name felt sticky and uncomfortable leaving his mouth but he quickly realized there was no taking back what he had said especially after he heard Lewis repeat it. For the first time since starting the interview, Hal became aware of the lights he was under and just how much they were raising his overall body temperature. The heat quickly became stifling and he found himself running his hands along his neck to try and loosen the tightening grip of his sweater collar.

"So, what was David like when he _wasn't_ on a mission, when there was no one else around but you two?"

"He was like any other person, I suppose. He watched movies, listened to music, read books, discussed the world around him. He wasn't all that different in his home life. As a matter of fact, I think most people would be surprised and perhaps even a little disappointed at just how normal he was."

"Isn't it true that David suffered severe PTSD that interfered greatly with his normal life?"

"Yeah. He'd have these flashbacks sometimes...and these terrible nightmares and night terrors that made it nearly impossible for him to sleep. They usually stemmed from something he had experienced during the day—a flashback or hallucination or something—that carried into the night. Sunny and I usually could tell what kind of night he was going to have based on the kind of day it had been."

"And how did he deal with all the flashbacks and nightmares?"

There was concrete slowly permeating in his lungs from the heated air he was breathing in and an intense tangling taking over in his hands.

"He drank. More than what's considered safe, I suppose. He had a lot to deal with, though. It's not like he could have gone to a psychiatrist or something. I honestly don't think they would have known what to do with him."

"Hal, is everything okay?" He heard Lacey call to him off set.

He nodded, unable to speak right away between his attempts to breath normally again. "Yeah…I'm just not used to all the attention, I guess." He was wringing his hands, trying to rid them of the pins and needles prickling in them and replacing them with the aching that motion caused.

Lacey soon approached him, a cold bottle of water outstretched in front of her. He took a few sips but it did nothing to wash down the anxiety that was clamoring its way through him.

"How do you feel?"

"I just…need some air. I can barely breathe." He answered truthfully.

"Kill the set lights!" Lacey called out. When they remained on, she spun around to shoot a look to a particular person, "Damnit, Jeff, turn them off!"

"What in the hell are you doing, Lacey?" Lewis asked when all the major lighting died.

"He's about to have an anxiety attack, Lewis. Your questions are upsetting him. He's a needs a few moments without those stupid lights on him."

"I need him to finish the interview. Can he continue?"

Lacey seemingly ignored Lewis, keeping her attention on Hal, until he finally decided to walk away and deal with his growing frustration elsewhere. She leaned over and braced one of her hands on Hal's leg and the other on her own. "I hate to ask you this, Hal, but do you think you'll be okay enough to go on? Your interviews are the most important to the project."

Hal took another drink of water and convinced himself nod yes.

He knew it was the only answer there was to that question. 'No' was not an option now.

* * *

_I meant to mention this in the last chapter but that little trick that Mei Ling does with the plastic bag and card key to open Hal's hotel room door is a real trick! I used to work at a grocery store where they taught us how to do that with cards that had worn magnetic strips. _

_Anyhoo, what's everyone thinking so far? Is Lewis a bastard or what?_


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Meryl turned off the water in the shower, she heard the phone ring on the other side of the wall. She rushed a towel around her figure and picked up the receiver by the third ring.

"Hi, Ms. Silverburgh, this is Sarah at the front desk."

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. Your father, Roy Campbell, just called and asked the hotel to inform you that he wanted you to meet him at Lucky's."

"Lucky's? Isn't that a bar?"

"It sure is. Do you need directions?"

"No, I know where it is." She sat down on the bed in back of her. "Did he say what he wanted to talk to me about?"

"No, he didn't…only for you to meet him there. I hope you don't mind me asking but is everything okay?"

Meryl chuckled a bit. "Your guess is as good as mine, Sarah."

* * *

"Campbell is here. Can you believe that?! Lewis only told me of Hal and Mei Ling's involvement."

Jack knew Rose wouldn't give him the reaction he wanted her to have. She was still friends with Campbell and just chuckled lightly into the receiver at her husband.

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Jack."

"You're actually right. Campbell's not even the worst of my problems here. This whole thing…it just feels wrong."

"What do you mean? Is anything fishy about Lewis?"

"He may be sneaky but he's definitely legit. I just…" he sighed, "I just feel like I'm not honoring Dave by doing this. I know this isn't what he wants and it's certainly not anything he'd want us to be involved with. It's like we're all mocking everything he stood for in a way. I don't know what in the hell I was thinking even coming here, Rose."

"What are you going to do?"

Jack sighed again. "I don't know yet."

Meryl had downed her third shot by the time she found the voice to talk to her father. She sat the glass down on the bar and signaled for the bartender to refill it before she officially acknowledged Campbell.

"What do you want from me, Roy?"

"I want you to stop pretending like I'm not here." He quickly took the refilled shot glass out of her grip before it could reach her mouth and sat it out of her reach. "Can we talk while you're still half sober?"

"I have a feeling I'm going to want to be pretty sloshed for this conversation."

"You completely shut me out again after the wedding. I thought we were going to begin to work things out between us."

"Just because I didn't shoot you and let you walk me down the aisle doesn't mean everything between us is fixed, Roy. It just means I didn't want killing you and marrying Johnny to fall so close on my 'things to do' list."

Roy was quiet for a moment before he grabbed the shot he had procured from Meryl and downed it in one gulp. "You're going to make this a lot harder on me than it has to be, aren't you?"

"Like you don't deserve it."

"I'm sorry, Meryl! How many times do you want me to say it? What Rose and I had was just a put on to protect her and her son."

Meryl shook her head and huffed out a laugh. "Are you that dense, Roy? Do you really think this is about you and Rose? Ten years ago you took it upon yourself to turn my whole fucking world upside down by telling me you were really my father! And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, you had this whole fantasy worked out where I automatically just settled into this role of being your little girl. The only father I ever need to know--your brother--was the greatest man I ever knew and how dare you...how _dare_ you," she hissed and pushed back hard enough on Roy's shoulder to nearly knock him off the bar stool, "try to step in and take his place!" She quickly swiped her arm across her face and gathered her jacket from empty stool next to her. "I don't even know why I came here. You're a waste of time."

Roy attempted to grab Meryl's arm when he realized she was en route to the door but she gracefully slide past him and into the sea of bar patrons. He scrambled to find details of her cloths in the crowd as he chased behind her but was constantly blocked by someone's shifting stance. When he reached outside, he spotted Meryl with her arm in the air, braking an approaching taxi.

"That's not what I meant to do, Meryl!" Roy quickly placed himself between the taxi door and his daughter as she reached for the handle. "I never meant to try and take my brother's place in your life as your father. I just wanted you to know the truth and from me and not anyone or anything else. If I would have known what doing that did to you and how you felt, I would have respected your wishes and removed myself from your life a lot sooner. The last thing I want to contribute to in your life is your unhappiness. I'm sorry it took so long for me to give you what you really wanted. I'll leave the project first thing tomorrow and I promise you'll never have to see me again."

Roy unblocked Meryl from the taxi and reentered the bar. When he sat back on the barstool, the bartender immediately eyed him and made her way to his end.

"Hey...you weren't all alone the last time I saw you a few minutes ago. Where's the pretty red head you were with?"

"Probably off trying to forget I'm her father."

"I'm sure that's not true." Roy motioned for her to refill the shot glass in front of him and she did so. "Every girl has a time where they want to break away from their parents. But they eventually come back."

"It's a lot more complicated than that."

The bartender's eyes focused behind Roy and then back to him. She smiled. "I don't think it's as complicated as you think."

"Roy."

He put down the shot glass when Meryl appeared in front of him again. "I thought you left."

"Lewis called me on my cell phone just as I was getting in the cab. There's an emergency cast meeting."

"What? Why?"

"Looks like someone beat you to that whole leaving the project thing. Lewis wouldn't tell me who left but I think I have a good idea. He wants to see all of us right away." Meryl looked as if she had lost what to do with her hands as she looked at Roy with them hidden behind her, "That cab is still waiting outside. If you want to, we could go back to the hotel. Together."

* * *

"If anyone else here is unhappy, please let me know now. We're way too deep into the project for anyone else to pull out." Lewis was unintentionally looking at Hal, which he could tell was making him slightly uncomfortable, especially paired with the irritable pacing in front of his cast members he was doing.

Mei Ling spoke up. "Jack hasn't been the same since Dave's death and everyone here knows that. He's got a lot stewing inside of him. Maybe it's best that he's not here anymore."

"He could have talked to me first. I found out from the front desk clerk when she called me to tell me he had checked out."

Meryl smirked, "In case you haven't noticed, Lewis, Jack wasn't exactly social. He was almost a ghost even when he was here."

Lewis stopped in front of the four friends left and the little girl with her fingers weaved solidly into Hal's. "So I guess that means no one even knows exactly why he left." He concluded and then shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway. I need to know the rest of you guys are in it for the long haul. I need this project to happen and I need you all here for that to happen. Remember, this is Snake's story we're trying to tell, here."

Everyone nodded, including Sunny, before Lewis was summoned out of the room by Lacey to take a call that was waiting for him.

"Jack left because of me."

"I'm sure that's not true, Campbell." Hal said.

"He hates me for sending Dave out on his final mission, knowing his condition was worsening. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I had killed Dave myself."

"Why do you think Jack hates you?" Sunny asked, every drop of her childlike naiveness intact.

"Because he's done all but tell me outright. I'm willing to bet any amount of money that the only reason Jack showed up here in the first place is because Lewis purposefully didn't tell him I'd be involved, too." He looked to his daughter. "It's the only reason Meryl showed up as well. Excuse me."

"Roy!" Meryl called as she exited the room behind him.

* * *

By the time Meryl got to Roy's room, half of his belongings were in his suitcase and was being covered in a layer of hastily collected clothes from the drawers.

"What are you doing?" She asked from the doorway.

"I'm leaving. Just like I promised you I would. I don't want to be here anymore and no one else seems to want to be here if I am anyway."

"That's not...entirely true." Meryl admitted remembering her own apprehension about staying upon knowing his presence. "Mei Ling, Hal, and Sunny have never had a problem with you being here and I--", Roy looked at her in mid toss of more of his things into his suitcase, "I'm trying to give you a chance. But for that to happen, you have to stay here."

Campbell sat down on the edge of the bed. "I feel like for the past 10 years, I've been barely getting by as the good guy...like I've done just enough to be tolerated by everyone but not necessarily liked. I just can't believe I never noticed that until now. I sent Dave out to kill Liquid when he was nearly dead himself…"

"And he got it done." Meryl reminded him, "He completed his mission and he saved us all."

"But I shouldn't have sent him out, Meryl."

"You say that as if you made him go. Dave had a mind of his own and the only reason he ever did anything was because _he_ wanted to. You know that...and I definitely know that. I just can't believe you're feeling sorry for yourself like this, Colonel."

Campbell visibly winced. "You shouldn't call me that."

Meryl sat next to him. "I did things while in FOXHOUND I'm never going to tell Lewis or even my own husband about. We all did—Dave, Jack, you. Compared to the general population, we're all scum, Roy. We're all the lowest of the low and I'm sure none of us even deserve the privilege of breathing right now but living in the regret of the things we did to get through at the time...it kind of makes all those sacrifices useless."

"Why are you being nice to me?"

Meryl shrugged her shoulders and shook her head at the ground. "I don't know...because it's too exhausting to hate you all the time, I guess."

"Well, whatever the reason...thanks."

* * *

_I like to call this the Meryl and Campbell chapter. Hope you guys like it. Wish I had more to say but it's about 1am where I am right now. :) - Andi_


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Hal's head shot up from the table at the soft rapping on the hotel room door. He hadn't even realized he had been sleeping until he had been jerked out of it. He did a quick scan of the room and realized Sunny was gone but his brain immediately placed where she was before he could enter panic mode.

"Hal?" The soft call was followed by more rapping. "Open up. It's me, Mei Ling."

As soon as the door opened to Hal's face, Mei Ling frowned slightly.

"Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah...at least I think I was."

"It's two in the afternoon, Hal."

"I didn't sleep much last night." He stepped aside to let Mei Ling in the room.

"Where's Sunny?" She asked.

"She went out to lunch with Meryl." He checked his watch. "Two hours ago."

"Wasn't interested in going out with them?"

Hal smiled as he closed the door. "I think it was a 'girls only' thing. I wasn't invited."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't have the heart to see you starve then." She held up a brown paper bag that Hal hadn't seen her bring in and sat it on the table.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Continue to be the only one holding it together. Jack left, Campbell's living with enough guilt for all of us, Meryl's just now acknowledging that she has a father and I..."

"You're doing great, Hal." She finished. "And I promise you I'm not holding it together as well as you think I am. I just hide my breakdowns behind lots and lots," she dug around in the brown bag and brought out a plastic container, "of cheesecake."

* * *

"I'm really happy we did this, Sunny. You and I don't hang out nearly enough."

Sunny smiled. "I'm happy we did this too, Meryl."

"You don't think Hal felt too left out since we didn't invite him along, do you?"

Sunny shook her head, "I don't think so. He doesn't go out too much anymore. He probably wouldn't have wanted to come anyway." She sounded a bit bitter as she stuck her spoon into the awaiting ice cream sundae in front of her.

"Hal's being a bit of a hermit these days, huh?"

"Yeah. He's been that way for a few months."

Meryl didn't need a time line. She knew exactly when it had started almost to the second.

"Well, honey, Hal's catching it a lot harder than the rest of us are these days. Him and Snake were very close."

"I know...I just wish he'd let himself cry already. I think it would help him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in the three months that Snake's been gone, he hasn't cried. Not once. He's holding it back for some reason. He's been really sad and I'm pretty sure he's even been angry but no tears."

"Maybe he's afraid to cry, honey."

Sunny let Meryl's statement marinate somewhere in the large spoonful of ice cream she had just dropped on her tongue for a moment. "I don't understand it. He's never had a problem crying before." she finally said.

"I know...but maybe crying for Snake will confirm that he's accepted his death...and I don't think Hal's ready for that just yet. The same thing will happen when you get older," she said when she watched Sunny's face scrunch in confusion, "In a few more years, you're going to develop an interest in guys and a lot of those guys are going to want to take you out on dates. For a while, Hal's probably not going to let you date these guys because seeing you date will force him to accept that you're growing up."

"But it's not like he pretends that Snake isn't gone. He knows it."

"Acknowledging Snake's death and accepting it are two very different things." Meryl smiled and stuck her own spoon into the sundae. "Don't worry. Hal will come around. He's going to have to."

* * *

"What?" Mei Ling was sure she saw Hal smile at her.

"You're just so...different."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not a bad thing!" He quickly said in prepared defense, "I just mean that sometimes when I look at you, I still see the nineteen year old girl from Shadow Moses."

"God, Hal...that was eleven years ago. And it's not like you were _that_ much older than me, you know. You were, what? Twenty-five, twenty-six?"

"Closer to twenty-six."

"Well, for the most part, you still look twenty-six, Hal."

Hal genuinely laughed for the first time in a longer time than even he realized, "I don't think I even know how to take that!"

"Take it as a compliment. I mean, aside from the 8-year-old girl you adopted, you're the same person you were when I met you. Sweet, naïve, unrealistically boyishly cute," Mei Ling said as she reached over and roughed his hair but then quickly smoothed it back over.

"You think I'm cute?"

"_Boyishly_ cute. Like a little brother."

"Thanks. I think."

"Think of it as a backhanded compliment."

"How about I think of it as just being backhanded." Hal's eyes followed Mei Ling when she got up and started to move about the small kitchenette and when he realized she was about to start washing dishes, he jumped up. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Well, in some countries, they call this cleaning up after lunch, Hal."

"Let me do it. I owe you this. You got lunch, I'll get the dishes."

"I don't mind. Go sit down." She insisted.

Hal grabbed the dish in her hand away from her and soon after was met with the sink sprayer pointed at him.

"Give me the dish, Hal, and sit down or you will be soaked." Mei Ling warned playfully.

Hal smirked a taunt at her. "You wouldn't dare."

"Don't test me!"

As Hal reached out to grab the sprayer, the water coming from it was only partially blocked by his hand and went on to hit his chest and face. He concentrated more on the schoolgirl giggling and squealing that was coming from Mei Ling as he tried to take her weapon and turn it against her. When he had finally taken it from her grasp and redirected the aim, Mei Ling froze as Hal threatened to pull the trigger.

"Hey, don't think I won't do it. I don't care if you're a girl. I happen to be a little crazy." He teased as he noticed Mei Ling inching closer.

She smiled. "So am I." With a wave of her hand, she pushed the sprayer out of her direction and placed herself directly in front of him. For a moment they stood there, both soaked and breathing in the moistened air the other was exhaling. It wasn't until he felt Mei Ling's hand on his face and nearing his lips that he realized that he was trying to talk. She used only so much as a slight smirk as a clue to her plans to press her lips on his and send tiny ripples that spread out throughout his entire body in a blinding split second.

"So," Hal said after he had a few moments to regain control of his thoughts, "you kiss all your little brothers like that?"

* * *

The uneasiness Hal found himself with walking to Lewis's room had began stirring the moment he picked up the phone and realized he was being summoned for a meeting.

A private one.

Even though he didn't sound unusually upset, it didn't ease the feeling at all that Lewis had specified Sunny's presence right before the line went dead.

"Why does Lewis want to see me too?"

"I don't know, sweetie." Hal answered. "But I seriously doubt it's going to be anything good."

Hal immediately thought Lewis looked too happy to see Sunny and preferred his usual nod of acknowledgment to her to his awaiting embrace and over enthused greeting. When he looked back up at Hal, his face fell back into his business look.

"You don't look very happy to see me, Hal."

"I'm not really sure how to feel right now to be completely honest." He admitted. "What's this about?"

"This will be painless, I promise." Lewis took a seat and then waved his hand to the sofa in back of them to offer them one. "I want to talk to you—both of you—about the current state of the documentary. As you know, Jack left the project a few days ago leaving me in a very tough position and less interview footage than I was planning to have."

"If you need me to do more interviews, I'm okay with that."

"And that's good to know," Lewis swept his eyes to Sunny, "But actually, I was wondering how Sunny would feel about being interviewed to make up for some of the footage."

Sunny's face immediately beamed. "That would be so awesome!"

"Absolutely not!" Sunny and Lewis both ended their private celebration to look to Hal. "There's no way she's doing this. No. Way."

"If it's money you're worried about, I promise she'll be paid just like the rest of you."

"It's not about the goddamn money, Lewis!"

"But, I want to do it, Uncle Hal." Sunny lightly pleaded with Hal.

"Sunny, could you please wait outside for a moment. Mr. McGregor and I need to talk."

They both watched and waited for the door to close with Sunny on the other side of it before either one of them spoke.

"What's the big deal, Hal? Sunny's a very smart little girl...she'll be great on camera."

"The big deal is that we agreed that Sunny wouldn't have a single frame of her face in this project. We established that before we ever left New York."

"I just need her to fill in a few minutes of runtime. We'll do one fifteen-minute interview and use a minute and a half of it. It's not that big a crime."

"You don't get it, do you, Lewis? My fate was pretty much sealed when I met Snake at Shadow Moses...and I don't regret that at all. But Sunny, she's 8 years old. She's got a whole life ahead of her and while she didn't have any control over being in the care of Snake and I, one day she's going to get married and have a family of her own and if she doesn't want a single soul to know anything about me or Snake or anything from her past, I want her to have the comfort of knowing that there isn't some documentary with her face on it that could ruin that for her."

"You don't really think Sunny will grow up and pretend like you and Snake didn't exist, do you? I mean, every teen does the rebellion thing but that's a little extreme don't you think?"

"Maybe she will," Hal answered quietly. "Maybe she'll be like Nastasha and not want any reminders of this life or the people in it...but Nastasha will always have that book that has her name on it and attaches her to everything that happened no matter what she does. If I have it my way, Sunny can be truly free of all of this if that's what she wants."

Lewis unintentionally laughed in his confusion, "Fine, we'll do things your way," he finally said, "I can't say I understand your logic but if that's what you want then I'll respect it."

"Thank you."

As Hal walked to the door, he could feel Lewis's eyes on him, possibly trying to better figure out what made him tick.

Or trying to figure out how crazy he was.

Outside, Sunny was waiting with a big smile in anticipation and hopes of Lewis changing his mind. Hal placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to be eye level with her.

"I don't want you do this project, Sunny."

"Why?!"

"Because I feel you're too young." He leaned his head to try to stay with her eyes when she looked down at the floor. "You don't hate me do you?"

"No," she answered and then looked up at him, "You're not going to let me date for a really long time, are you?"

"What? Sure I am, sweetie. You'll still be young enough to find your soul mate when you're thirty-five." Hal smiled when he realized she had and planted a series of kisses on her face, thankful she was still young enough to giggle delightfully in them…and still enjoy being around him.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, how are you getting along at home without me?"

Johnny smiled at his wife via the webcam mounted on top of his computer monitor. "I'm on the pizza and beer diet just like I told you I would be."

"That means you haven't washed a single dish since I've been gone."

"Is that what I was supposed to be doing with those? I've been throwing them away…"

After a long moment, Meryl said, "I miss you a lot, Johnny."

"I miss you too. How much longer are you supposed to be there?"

"Another week or so but since Jack left a few days ago, we may have to stay longer to make up for the footage."

"Wait…Jack was there? I thought Hal was the only other person taking part."

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you with everything going on," she said in realization of her failure to tell him of the film's full cast list, "Jack signed on to do the project, was here, did an interview, walked out of the interview, and then left. If you would have blinked, you might have missed him."

"If Jack was there, does that mean there's other unmentioned guests there?"

Meryl nodded. "Everyone was manipulated by Lewis in order to get them to do the project. Jack, Mei Ling, Hal, Roy—"

"Roy?!" He repeated back, some of his wife's own anger toward him mirrored in his voice. "What in the hell is he doing there?"

"He got roped in under false pretenses just like the rest of us."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were taking up for him."

"Well…maybe people deserve second chances sometimes, Johnny. I mean…can I really go on being angry at him for forever?"

"You were doing a pretty good job of it before you got to Los Angeles." He admitted.

"I know…but being here around everyone reminded me that Dave wouldn't have wanted that. Campbell didn't make it easy for Dave to trust him but he saw something in him and I think I'm finally ready to see what that thing is too."

"So, does this mean he's going to be coming to the house to visit now?"

"Not exactly. It means that if he's in town and calls me to have dinner, I won't ignore the phone anymore."

The answer eased him very little and Meryl caught him shaking his head at the tail end of a long sigh.

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Meryl. I don't want him to hurt you."

"I'm a big girl. I can protect myself. I've even managed to protect _your_ butt on many occasions in case you've forgotten."

"You're going to hold that over my head our entire marriage, aren't you?"

"Until death do us part."

"I knew I should have married Mei Ling…"

Meryl playfully scowled at him and then smiled, "Well, your window of opportunity may be closing. Her and Hal have been spending an awful lot of time around each other."

"Really? Her and Hal? Can't say I saw that comin'."

"Makes sense to me. They're both socially awkward geniuses in their own right. Don't know why it didn't happen sooner, actually. I think it's kinda cute."

"Well, you certainly know them better than I do. What I do know is that Hal's a good guy and deserves to be happy."

"Even at the expense of you losing your other woman?"

Johnny laughed but nodded. "Yeah. I guess I'll have to learn to be happy with you."

* * *

Sunny shook Hal's body a few times. His refusal to awaken told her how tired he was and how much he needed to stay where he was, perhaps just for the night…but she couldn't stand to see him slumped over the small dining room table, his face and glasses smashed into his forearm. Finally, he jumped up and spun around to look at her. When he gathered her face, he closed his eyes and began to breathe again.

"Uncle Hal…are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine. You just startled me a bit, sweetie."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's not your fault I'm unusually jumpy these days. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," she said, "You're sleeping at the table…again."

Hal took a glance at his watch. "I guess I should be in bed or something by now. But so should you. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I came to check on you. I figured you'd be out here still."

"You shouldn't worry about me, Sunny."

"If I don't, who will?"

"I will…that's my job." He pulled Sunny into and locked his arms over her chest in a backwards embrace. "You're way too young to worry," he added after a few seconds, "It ages you horribly."

"All you do is worry and it didn't age you."

"Oh yes it did. I'm actually sixteen years old you know."

Sunny laughed and turned to face him. "No you're not, Uncle Hal. I know what you're trying to do, though."

"And what's that?"

"You're trying to make me laugh to make me forget how sad you are."

"You're half right," he told her, "I'm trying to make you laugh to make myself forget how sad I am, honey. It's what adults do."

"If you want to, you can talk to me, Uncle Hal. I'm a really good listener."

"I know you are. God, you're growing up so much faster than I ever wanted to see you. You pretty much only need me because I have a driver's license. You really won't need me when you're sixteen."

"You always joke around like that but I know that's what you really think." She told him in a slightly chastising tone. "It's not true. I'll always need you. I have to take care of you."

Hal chuckled a bit at her naivety. "And what ever gave you the idea that you had to take care of me?"

"Dave did. Right before he died, he told me to take care of you until you could let him go. He said that you'd be okay after that."

"Dave…Dave said that?" Hal felt like his body was in a frozen cocoon of molasses.

Sunny nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me this three months ago, Sunny?"

"I….I don't know. I never felt you needed to hear it until now."

"I would have appreciated hearing it then!"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Hal." She said, tears rapidly lining her eyes. "That's all he told me…was to take care of you until you could let go of him—"

"Did he happen to tell you just how the hell I'm supposed to do that?!"

Whether she realized it or not, Hal's sharpness caused Sunny to take a step back away from him.

Hal's heart shattered instantly in his chest as he watched her. "No, Sunny…please don't back away from me. I can't lose you too." He grabbed onto her and hugged her tightly, burying his face into her hair and neck. "I'm so sorry, Sunny. Please forgive me. I swear I didn't mean to say any of that to you. Please forgive me…" He pulled her face into his hands. "Don't cry, okay? I don't ever want to make you cry ever again."

"It's okay, Uncle Hal," she laughed as she ran her palms across her eyes to try and lift some of guilt of his face but it didn't move. "You just need to sleep. Get some sleep tonight, okay?"

Hal nodded. "Yeah, you're absolutely right. I will."

Sunny kissed him on the cheek and held it a little longer than she normally did. "Goodnight, Uncle Hal."

"Goodnight."

As she rounded the corner, she stopped and turned back to Hal.

"You'll never lose me," she assured him. "I'll never let that happen."


	7. Chapter 7

Lewis had been interviewing Hal for thirty minutes before the feelings he had felt his first time under the hot lights and cameras came back.

"Hal, are you okay?" Lewis didn't sound as concerned about his answer as he had been the first time. He sounded annoyed that whatever Hal's problem was slowing down production and didn't try very hard to hide it in his tone.

"I'm fine."

Hal looked off the set to Sunny and smiled. In an attempt to make up for the night before, he had let her come to set with him but he hadn't been glad about the decision until just then when he was able to look at her face and retrieve a much needed breath.

"Good." He looked down at the clipboard in his lap. "Now, what was it like living with Dave in his last days?"

"It was hard. Really stressful. He was angry at me a lot."

"Do you think he was really just scared of dying and taking it out on you?"

Hal shook his head before he had even heard the full question. "No. He was ready. He had good reason for being angry with me. I didn't want to see him die and it made him angry that I couldn't let go."

"When exactly did Dave come to terms with his death?"

"He was _always_ ready to die." Hal told him. "There was no coming to terms with it… it had always been part of his job requirements. Failure to be ready and prepared for something like that is failure to do your job successfully. That's the way he always saw it."

"I know this is going to be hard for you but could you take me back to _that_ day? What did it feel like to be seeing your best friend slip away like that?"

Hal was wringing his hands again, uncontrollably bending his fingers in all the directions they weren't meant to go in. He shook his head at Lewis, "I can't..."

"Try." Lewis replied quickly.

Hal's eyes went to the floor for a long time, bringing the set to a quiet that was more than what was required while rolling. "Who's your best friend?"

"I don't understand--"

"Answer the question, Lewis." He repeated in a calm that was clearly only covering his surface. "Who is your best friend? I'm pretty sure I heard you mention someone named Andrew when I first met you."

"Yes," he answered quietly, "Andrew Coleman."

"And how many years have you known each other?"

Lewis thought a moment as if it was a chore to do so. "I don't know...since elementary school. Why?"

"Are you close?"

"Yes."

"How close?"

"I call him just about everyday even though he lives twenty minutes away from me."

"What does Andrew do now?"

"Hal, why am I being interviewed now?" The look that had settled onto Hal features gave him enough incentive to just answer the question without trying to get his own answered anymore. "He's in the military."

"Now, imagine that Andrew has to be deployed somewhere and he's shot and killed, in cold blood. How do you feel about that?"

"I'd feel horrible. I wouldn't know what to do with myself," he admitted, "but that's not the way Dave died. He died out of action, surrounded by people who cared about him."

"Fine," Hal said, "Andrew dies peacefully in front of you from a long battle with cancer or some other terminal illness. How do you feel now? Any less distraught?"

Lewis shook his head, all words suddenly backing out at the chance to plunge another snarky retort from his mouth.

"You see, Lewis, it really doesn't matter how Dave died, does it? He's still dead. My whole sense of being was ripped away from me the same way it would have been had I watched him be tortured and killed by the enemy. You can go and call your best friend right now if you wanted to and tell him about something funny that happened to you or get advice about a problem you have...and I still can't and I hope to God you never have to know how that feels."

Lewis stared hard at Hal, seemingly trying to remember how to talk. "Cut, everyone!" Lewis finally called to the crew. "We're going to take fifteen." He gave Hal one more look before shuffling sideways past a few of his crewmembers into an area of the set that Hal couldn't see into.

Sunny moved quickly across the set to Hal and rushed a hug—one he very badly needed—around him.

"Uncle Hal, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She looked back at the direction Lewis had disappeared into, "I didn't like the questions Lewis was asking you."

"I didn't either."

"I'm starting to think that maybe Lewis isn't as nice as I thought. Meryl was right about him being a wolf and wanting blood."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"When can we go home, Uncle Hal? I really want pizza and LA pizza is terrible."

Hal laughed a little harder than he would have under circumstances where he didn't need it as much. "We'll be home soon, sweetie. And we'll order the biggest pizza in New York with any and every topping you want."

"You promise?"

He couldn't help but see the ghost of the tears he had caused her the night before and instinctively ran his thumb over her cheek to assure himself that they were truly gone.

"Yeah. I promise."

* * *

"Sunny tells me you went off on Lewis today during the taping of your interview. That's not like you."

"Did Sunny happen to tell you that I also went off on her as well? I've never spoken to her like I did last night. I don't know what came over me, Mei Ling. I didn't even feel like myself when that happened."

"Everyone's stressing out over the project, Hal. I'm amazed we all didn't file out the door behind Jack to tell you the truth. Speaking of Jack, I have something that might make you feel better. I got ahold of the footage of his interview." Mei Ling took out a flash drive from her pocket and slide it across the dining table to him.

"So this is why you told me to bring my laptop with me." He concluded. "And how in the hell did you manage to get this?"

"Everyone working on this are film school students...not computer experts. The footage was easy to hack. So easy, I almost felt bad doing it." She smiled. "Almost. I was going to watch it earlier but decided I needed some company first."

Hal inserted the flash drive into his laptop and clicked around the contents until a video box opened in the center of the screen. The camera scrambled for several seconds to focus in on an already annoyed Jack, his arms crossed hard in front of him.

"We're about to start." Lewis said off screen. Jack's expression didn't change with the news.

"Uh…okay. Could you describe your relationship with Snake?"

"He was my friend...and my mentor."

"So, it's pretty safe to say you looked up to him?"

Jack nodded. "More than he ever knew. I treasured everything he told me about life and people and war. He saved me from the naïve person I was when I met him six years ago. He protected me...and when he got sick, I wanted to return the favor."

"What were you trying to protect him from?"

"Himself, perhaps," he said and then added, "And Campbell."

"Campbell?" Lewis said with an enthusiasm that came with striking potential dirt. "Why Campbell?"

"Campbell didn't give a damn about Snake. He screwed him over every chance he got and sent him out to risk his life whenever he saw fit. Why Snake ever saw that man as a friend, I'll never know."

"Isn't it true that Roy saved your wife and son's life by protecting them from The Patriots, though?"

"One good deed doesn't make him or anyone a hero."

"Don't you think you're being a little too hard on him?"

The blood Jack drew from biting his tongue turned quickly into venom. "As a matter of fact, I don't. You weren't there, watching Snake's strength drain as he saved a world that he didn't owe single thing to. Maybe Campbell had no problem watching Snake deteriorate during his final mission...but it's something I'll never forget."

"Do you blame Campbell for Snake's death?"

"No," Jack said, "I blame Campbell for not letting Snake just live out the rest of his life. Our memories are all we have left of Snake. No one got the luxury of photos or videos to help tell about his life and legacy, just what each of us who knew him have here," he pointed to his heart. Jack looked up at Lewis suddenly. "I can't do this."

"What?"

He began ripping the cords of the shirt mic and mic pack from his body. "I won't do this," He corrected himself, "I _refuse_ to do this to Snake. This isn't how he's supposed to be remembered."

Lewis called after Jack for a few moments after he went off screen and then ordered someone to stop filming.

Mei Ling looked at Hal as she unplugged the jump drive from the computer. He quietly got up and traveled to the other side of the room, his gaze sticking to the window to the bustling city four floors below them.

"Hal--"

"I have no direction anymore, Mei Ling. I can't find where it is I think I'm supposed to be going. Not on my own. He knew I wouldn't, too." He turned to her. "Did you know he told Sunny—Sunny, of all people—to take care of me? Do you know how pathetic you have to be to under the care of a 8-year-old child?" He returned his gaze to the window. "I always thought Dave was just the driver but he's the compass and the road map too. I didn't plan for anything after him. I didn't think I'd ever have to."

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hal, you're going to be okay. You're going to be happy again. It's just going to take some time."

Hal was shaking his head vigorously in strong disagreement to the statement. "No, it doesn't work. I've tried being okay, I've tried being happy and that doesn't work without Dave and now Dave is—" Mei Ling looked on as he searched for the words to finish. His face disappeared under his clenched fists. When Mei Ling reached out to touch him, she could feel his entire body quivering in his suddenly erupting emotions. "Damnit!"

Before she realized what was happening, Hal grabbed his laptop and hurled it into the wall adjacent from him barely letting it fall to the ground before looking for the next thing to feed his finally surfacing pain and anger into. As his hands grasped the table to flip it over, Mei Ling pinned his arms to his side in a motion that made her feel like a human straightjacket. He fought wildly and desperately to free himself and from some unknown source of strength, she managed to successfully hold onto him. She knew it wasn't her he was trying get tear away from. She couldn't see it and neither could Hal…but _he_ could feel it. Hal's unseen opponent finally broke him down to the ground, forcible pulling his eyes and soul to pour for Dave the way they should have three months ago and needed to at that moment in Mei Ling's quiet and perfect embrace.

*******

Mei Ling picked her head off of the wall from behind her and took a moment to wonder about what it was that had opened her eyes to begin with. She immediately realized she was still on the floor, Hal's body loosely entangled with hers by way of arms and hands, his head resting in her lap. It was morning and the sun nor the impatient, honking white-collar traffic below them was letting her forget that. She quickly freed one of her hands from Hal's and dug her cell phone from her pocket when it began to vibrate a reminder alert.

"What is it?"

Mei Ling looked down from the phone into Hal's waking, busy blue eyes, searching her face in the sunlight.

"It's a text from Lewis. We have another cast meeting in about 30 minutes or so."

He groaned and buried his face into her hip. "I don't want to go. Can't I call in sick?"

"That was going to be _my_ plan." She confessed and flipped her phone closed. "Might look a little suspicious if we both did that."

"Maybe you could just go and tell me all about it when you get back."

"Nice try, Emmerich. If I have to suffer through one of his lectures...so do you." She said pushing her index finger into his chest between words.

He rolled his head toward the wall he had remembered throwing the computer into. He knew it wasn't broken entirely but that the repairs needed would make him wish he had destroyed it. "I did that, didn't I?"

"Yep, I'm afraid so."

"I'm really sorry, Mei Ling."

"For what?"

"For making you put up with me last night. I feel like can't do anything right these days."

"I think taking part in the project so early into your healing process is starting to take its toll on you."

"You're probably right."

"I _know_ I am, Hal. You've got to find your new normal…your new happiness again before you do anything."

"I hope I can at least do _that_ right."

She lightly patted him thrice on his chest. "You're fine, Hal. Stop talking like that."

He grabbed her hand before she could take it back and planted his hands and chin over it. "I don't want to leave this moment." He said, shutting his eyes and only keeping in touch with the sound of them exchanging breaths. "This is the best moment I've had in a really long time and I don't want Lewis or anyone to ruin it."

"No one can ruin it if you don't let them, Hal. Not even Lewis. Your happiness is yours just like your memories of Dave are. No one can take those away from you."

"I don't think I know where my happiness is anymore." He admitted.

"You'll find it." She said with an airiness reserved for calming a child from a nightmare, "And when you do, it'll be all yours."

Hal soaked a few more moments of Mei Ling's body pulsating amidst his before rising to his feet and running his hands over his hair in a vain attempt to settle it back into place. "I'm going to go get Sunny from my room and I guess we'll meet everyone at the meeting place."

"Sounds good. And Hal," Mei Ling stole a small peck on his lips when he turned to respond to her. "I know you'll do the right thing."


	8. Chapter 8

At some point, Lewis had had a table brought into their meeting area. A small, rectangular table that was nearly swallowed in the white walls that surrounded it. Mei Ling glanced at the two remaining empty chairs at the table and slid her gaze to the door.

"Do you know where they are, Mei Ling?"

Mei Ling looked at Lacey and shook her head.

"No. I thought Hal and Sunny would be here by now."

"Well, as long as they're here before Lewis, it shouldn't be a problem."

A half a beat later, the door opened and Lewis bumped his way in holding two cardboard caddies with six coffees in them.

"Sorry I'm late, guys. I went to get coffee for everyone but the line at Starbucks was horrible. Well, no coffee for Sunny, of course. Got her an orange juice." He sat down the caddy and began taking out the drinks. When a single coffee and orange juice remained on the table, his eyes began searching the room for the first time since he had entered.

"Where's Sunny and Hal?" He asked.

"Well, it is pretty early. He could be still trying to get Sunny up," Mei Ling suggested. "She can sleep through a freight train passing through the room sometimes. Hal is up, though."

"You saw him this early in the morning?" Roy questioned. "You passed him on the way here or something?"

"Uh…something like that."

"Maybe her and Hal managed to wake up around the same time." Meryl suggested, echoing her deeper knowing in the glance she gave Mei Ling.

Mei Ling laughed nervously and took a long sip of coffee that nearly burned every active taste bud on her tongue.

"Well, I guess I'll start without them." Lewis took a deep breath. "I've been a douche. I'm well aware of that and I'm sorry about that. But after Jack left, everything went to hell. I'm a cast member short, way behind schedule, and not to mention short on footage. The project has been extremely stressful and…you know what, this is bugging me." He suddenly looked at Lacey, "Could you please go see where in the hell Hal and Sunny are. They need to hear this."

Lacey nodded and quickly left the room.

"For this to get done," he continued, barely missing a beat, "I'm going to need all of you guys to give a hundred and twenty percent. I'm going to need you guys for an additional two weeks."

"What?" Meryl said immediately, shooting straight out of her slumping position in the chair. "Lewis, we all have our lives in different cities and states. We can't stay here another two weeks. I want to go back home to my husband sometime this year!"

"Look, I didn't do this, okay? Your friend Jack did this when he walked out in the middle of my project. You guys haven't been being very fair to me during this process so I'm sorry if this is not your ideal situation. It's not mine either." Lewis managed to laugh even though they could all tell he was the furthest emotion away from happy at the moment. "You guys are getting _paid_ to sit in front of a camera and talk. That's it. I don't understand what the problem is…"

"I'll tell you what the problem is, Lewis! You're a lying, manipulative, scheming little—" Meryl's eyes shot to the door when it's disturbance cut into her thought and caused Lewis to look the same direction.

"Where in the hell have you been? You've missed most of what I was saying, Hal."

Hal had his head poked in the room, shielding the rest of his body with the wood door. "I don't think I missed anything, Lewis." He said.

"Come in and sit down Hal. I still need to go over a few things with you guys."

"No, I can't stay actually. I just came to tell you I quit. I didn't want you to find out from the front desk clerk again."

"What? Hal!" He disappeared quickly from the doorway causing Lewis to go out behind him into the corridor. Hal had Sunny in close tote, heading away from him. "What do you mean you quit?!"

Hal stopped and turned around. "It means Sunny and I are getting on a plane and going back to New York where the people are nicer…and apparently the pizza is better too." He looked down at Sunny with a small, private smile and squeezed her hand slightly.

Mei Ling quietly lead out the curious three bodies out of the meeting room and out into the hallway. Lewis threw a quick acknowledgment of venom to them and turned back to Hal.

"Look, Hal. I understand you're having a tough time being here…but let's not be rash here. If you leave, you might end up regretting it."

"The only thing I regret is agreeing to do this project, Lewis. Yes, I was unhappy in New York…but I've been absolutely miserable since I've been here." Hal suddenly caught Mei Ling's eyes. She smiled first and it quickly caught his lips. "Well, not _completely_ miserable."

"Hal, you signed a contract. You don't finish the project, you don't cash the check. That's how this works, remember?"

Hal let go of Sunny's hand to take out his wallet. "Oh, you mean this check?" He asked waving a yellow document between them. He searched his pocket until he pulled out a tiny red lighter and put the successful third flick of it to the paper. It went up in flames so fast that Lewis didn't even have time to react aloud. "My memories of Dave aren't for sale. They're all I have left of him and I'm not sure if I want to share them with the rest of the world yet. But, if I decide to, I know I won't want it to be like this." He looked at his friends. "The one good thing to come out of this was all of us being here together and getting to know each other again…and perhaps even in different ways. But, I can't stay here any longer…"

"Hal!" Mei Ling called to him and ran to his side. "You're not thinking about leaving without me, are you?"

"What?!" Lewis was almost a caricature of himself, waving his arms with exaggeration created by anger and confusion. "Mei Ling…you have to be kidding me!"

"If Mei Ling and Hal are out, so am I," Meryl announced, happy for the out they had created.

"Okay, I see what this is." Lewis said, hesitantly following his sense of an epiphany. "You guys planned this. You put together this walkout to get back at me for being a total tyrant for the past few weeks, right? Look, I'm not mad and I'm positive I deserve it." Lewis pressed this palms together, subconsciously chopping them threw the air between sentences. "I'm sorry. I know I haven't been handling this situation with the best of attitudes or most graceful of approaches. If you guys stay on the project, we'll start over, okay? I promise I'll mellow out and do things the right way. What do you say?"

Roy was the first person to stir. He took Lewis's shoulder from behind and patted it, squeezing it heartily on the second one. Lewis searched Roy's face in the moments that the silence between them was the thickest.

"Goodbye, Lewis."

After a long moment at looking at the friends, all in some way or another awaiting his response to their actions, he crossed his arms in front of him. Hal was so concentrated on Sunny's tiny hand intertwined in his left one that he didn't realize Mei Ling's vinning into his right. When he turned to look at her, she was focused ahead at Lewis, quietly conveying how thoughtless the action was and how natural the result felt.

"This wasn't planned was it?" He finally said, realizing the apologetic tone in his voice had surfaced too late.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lacey asked approaching the scene in the hallway. "Why is everyone out here?"

"Lacey, I need you to do something for me."

"Sure."

"Book all of them plane tickets to where ever they tell you they want to go. Find them the earliest flight times you can."

"Wait…what's going on here? What about the documentary and telling Snake's story?"

When Lewis took a moment to look to Hal, he saw the small smile that had pushed it's way across his face, the first one Lewis had seen since Hal had arrived. "I guess some stories are meant to be just remembered and not told." He gave one last look and accompanying slight nod to the friends before turning away with Lacey in a close and curiosity fueled tow.

* * *

"That was a really brave thing you did back there, Hal Emmerich." Hal blushed visibly under the late morning sun pouring through the endless windows of LAX and bowed his head away from her shyly. "I mean it. It took a lot of guts to tell Lewis off like that."

"It was long overdue. Actually, the only reason I did it was because of you."

"I didn't have anything to do with that." She corrected him. "That was all you, Hal."

What had felt noisy upon entrance into the bustling airport, without Hal noticing, had blended into a background ambiance of travel chatter mixed with the swinging roars of plane engines coming in and taking off.

"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked.

Mei Ling stared down at her own ticket and flopped it on the palm of her hand a few times. "Don't know. I'm not sure why Lewis even gave me a plane ticket since I live here. Maybe I'll use it to take a vacation to New Zealand or something. I heard it's beautiful there."

"Oh," he forced himself to pick up his dropped expression. "Well, if you ever find yourself in New York…"

"I'll be sure to visit. You could take me to where they make that famous pizza Sunny talks about." She slightly twisted in her seat to look over at Sunny but her head was too locked away in the activity of her laptop to realize she was being referenced. "What about you, Hal? What are you going to do?"

He sat back in his seat and shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know," he answered, the urgency to know for himself now too hitting him. "Maybe I could try a life of solitude like Dave did. He didn't seem to fair off too badly living like that."

Mei Ling's eyebrows dashed upward momentarily but she forced a nod of understanding. "Sounds very much like Dave, alright." She said more as an unflattering observation than the complimentary tone she made it come out in.

He suddenly shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. That's not even _kind of_ what I meant. Mei Ling," he located and pulled her hands in his. "I'm really not sure what my new happiness is going to be like without Dave…but more than anything, I want you to be a part of it."

"Hal…"

"I'm not asking you to fall in love with me. I'm not even saying that I'll fall in love with you…but, we should see what happens, right? I don't want to just ignore everything that happened between us. Maybe you could come back to New York with me and Sunny for a while. There's plenty of space. You could have your own room. That's if you want your own room. I don't mind sharing mine..." Hal finally plugged the stream of bumbling thoughts and squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I'm getting way ahead of everything."

"I'll do it."

His eyes popped open to her. "You will?" He said with so much surprise, she almost felt as if she had said the wrong answer. "Just like that?"

Mei Ling reached over the armrest between them and took his face in her hands, smiling as delicately as her hold on him was. "Hal…did you really think I had any interest in going to New Zealand? I want to be wherever _you_ are, silly."

He leaned over and kissed her, firmly pressing his response directly onto her receive ready lips. Stifled giggling drew both of them out of the moment and redirected their attention to the source of it.

"And what are _you_ going on about over there, gigglebox?" He poked his index finger into Sunny's side, making her worm around giddily in her seat.

"It's just…you already look like you've found your new happiness, Uncle Hal."

Hal and Mei Ling exchanged looks and then smiles, both knowing that to assume that might be naïve but that considering that maybe he was at least on the right track to finding it certainly wouldn't be.

* * *

_Well, I hope you've enjoyed this. I'm probably going to go back into hiding for a while in order to work on my original stuff some more. I'll poke my head back up in a few months though when I get tired of my own created characters and need to emotionally screw up Kojima's some more. Thank you so much for reading and all the great feedback and reviews! You guys rock! -- Andi_


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